Sorry, Not Sorry
by UnfamiliarSky
Summary: Beca and Chloe's first date. *Directly follows Call Me Hopeless, Not Romantic.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello all, hope all is well with all of you lovelies. Coming to you live, from the You Hold Your Breath... universe, directly following the last installment, Call Me Hopeless, ladies and gentlemen I proudly present *drumrolllllllll* The first date!**

 **Hope you all like it! As always since this is Beca focused, part two will be from Chloe's side.**

 **Title comes from Mayday Parade song of the same name.**

 **Ch1.**

The brunette stepped out of the small bathroom. She tugged on the ends of her sleeves as she came to stand in the middle of the dorm and held her arms out a moment before dropping them to slap against her legs.

"What do you think?"

Jesse sat up straight where he'd been leaning back in her desk chair tossing a basketball he'd found on her shelf up in the air repeatedly. He took a good look at his friend up and down. She wore a pair of black dress pants with a blouse patterned with irregular stripes of varying shades of gray; the neck resting modestly above her cleavage. The outfit was topped with a solid black blazer.

Beca shifted awkwardly under his critiquing eyes.

"Well?"

"You look nice," he finally spoke and his friend sighed.

"Just nice?"

"You look good, Beca."

She dropped down on the bed across from him.

"This is a disaster," she said as she put her face in her hands.

"Stop, no it's not," he disagreed and grabbed her hands; pulling her to stand back up with him, "Let's have another look."

She stood once more, her shoulders a bit more slumped than before. She could tell her friend wasn't exactly impressed, but she'd really been so overwhelmed and uncertain when she went shopping for something to wear for her date with Chloe.

"It's nice," he said again and hurried to add more when he saw her face pinch at the word, "It's great, she'll love it."

"No it's not, you're just saying that," she dismissed with obvious misery, "I need to make an impression; something that shows I'm not just the bum who shows up to rehearsal at the last second because I just rolled out of bed."

He chuckled to himself.

"Well you _do_ like your sleep," he noted.

"You're not helping."

"You're not a bum," he assured her, "and Chloe doesn't think that."

She rolled her eyes, "Come on, and help me. How can I fix this?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, maybe a skirt?"

Beca scoffed, "I already feel like I'm playing dress up here, dude."

"Well, that's part of your problem; you aren't comfortable," he started than stepped closer, "Here, lose this."

At his words, Jesse came behind her and pulled the jacket off, throwing it onto the chair.

"Hey, easy!" she declared, grabbing the material once again and shaking it a bit before smoothing any potential wrinkles, "I still have to return this."

She double-checked that the tag was still in the pocket where she'd slipped it for safe keeping. Jesse ignored her and looked at her now without the jacket.

"I mean, it's better," he commented, "I don't know, try rolling the sleeves a bit?"

She did as he suggested, rolling the fabric up to her forearms.

"Now you look more like Beca Mitchell," he declared.

"I don't know, it shows my tattoo," she noted uncertainly glancing at the headphones and grasshopper respectively.

"Sorry, did you get the tattoo so no one would ever see it?" he asked sarcastically, "Because if that's the case, you put them in the wrong spot."

"I know, but this is a nice restaurant, I doubt they want someone all inked up in their dining room."

"You're overthinking this, Becaw," he told her with a chuckle, "Where are you guys going again?"

"Alessandro's," the girls answered, looking at herself in the mirror while rolling her sleeves back down.

Behind her, Jesse let out a long whistle, "Damn, how'd you manage that? I can't afford to stand outside and smell the food there."

Beca laughed at her friend.

"I told my dad I left some textbooks on the quad and they were gone when I went back, so I needed enough money to replace them all."

"Huh, I'm surprised old Dr. Mitchell didn't go to the book store and try to throw his name around to make them give you new ones."

"Oh he wanted to," she began, "I gave him a whole speech about how I'm staying to get the whole college experience and regular students don't have their daddies come and push people around for free stuff."

She turned around and saw Jesse rolling the ball around on the desk.

"And I promised to pay him back, which will suck," she sighed grabbing her jacket again, "Just hope I don't end up working my ass off to pay him back for a crappy night."

"Would you stop," he demanded, "You'll be fine. Tonight will be great."

She nodded shakily.

"Beca, say it."

"Tonight will be great."

"Good, you almost sounded like you believed it that time."

The girl checked the time.

"Ok, it's now or never," she muttered, "Are you sure about the flowers?"

"You've got to get flowers, Bec," he replied, "It's the first date."

"No, I mean, you're sure it should be roses?"

"Of course," he started tossing the ball up again. Beca grabbed it out of the air before he could catch it and set it back in its place on the shelf.

"It's just, Chloe's favorite flowers are lilies. Shouldn't I get those?"

"Listen, you're talking to the master of the romantic comedy genre," he explained, "Roses. Lilies can come later."

"Ok," she slid her jacket back on, "Wish me luck."

"You got this!" he pointed at her as he followed her out of her dorm.

Beca nodded and muttered to herself as she went her own way, "I got this."

The brunette sat in the car outside of Chloe's building, her slender fingers drumming on the steering wheel as she looked in the passenger seat at the two different bouquets. She'd debated with herself between the two, just as she had at the shop before making the decision and just buying both. After a few minutes, she picked on up and dropped the other into the backseat.

Just as she had on the day she'd somehow gathered the courage to ask Chloe out, Beca spent the journey up, trying to calm her nerves. Once the doors of the elevator opened, she made sure to get out quickly and put enough space in between her and the machine; learning her lesson from last time. The absolute last thing she needed was the jacket she planned to return getting destroyed or lost by those damned doors.

With a deep breath she looked down at herself and went for it.

After knocking, she could hear voices she recognized as Chloe and Aubrey, but was unable to tell what they were saying. They went back and forth for a few minutes before the door opened and Beca had to step back as Chloe exited and quickly bringing the door shut behind her.

"Hi!" Chloe greeted her brightly; Beca noticed she was keeping a hand behind her and holding the doorknob as if making sure it wouldn't be opened back up.

That strange action got her attention, but once Chloe spoke, her eyes focused on the girl instead. The redhead – _her date_ – wore a brilliant blue sleeveless dress that made her eyes sparkle even brighter. Beca felt her mouth go dry at the woman in front of her.

"You look good…I mean…" she attempted to speak but found herself failing at conveying what she wanted to say, "You look better than good. Sorry, I just – you're-"she cleared her throat, "Wow."

Chloe chuckled, "Thank you. You look better than good too."

Beca looked down at herself once more before she realized she was still holding the flowers.

"Oh, these are for you," Beca announced; holding out the bouquet.

"Oh, thank you!" Chloe answered happily accepting the flowers and bringing them up to smell them, "Mm, lilies are my favorite; thank you."

Beca felt a relieved breath escape her; happy she'd made the right choice.

"I love them," Chloe said again, "Most people bring roses, which is a little cliché and played out for a first date, you know?"

Beca forced out a nervous laugh and scratched at her forehead, "Yeah, totally."

"I'll just put these in some water real fast."

Chloe hurried inside and shut the door behind her before Beca had a chance to follow her in; which surprised her. So Beca waited awkwardly in the hall, once again hearing voices going back and forth before the door opened back up. Chloe came out, turning back as she closed to the door and speaking into the apartment in a quick, hushed voice.

"No, stop it. No!" She said as she pulled the door shut and spun around to Beca with a smile back in place, "Ready?"

Beca pulled up to the restaurant and heard Chloe let out a quiet gasp.

"Are you serious?" Chloe asked as she turned to Beca, "We're actually going here?"

Beca's nerves returned full force and she gripped the wheel tightly.

"You don't like it?"

"No, no, it's not that," she quickly assured, "It's just so nice. I've been here once with my parents and it's pretty pricey, Beca."

"Don't worry about it," she spoke with a little bit of confidence, as she felt the weight of her borrowed cash in her pocket as she got out and opened Chloe's door for her.

The two entered and Beca pulled on her sleeves once again as she took note of the extravagant room. When they approached the host, Beca felt his criticizing eye run over her as he asked for their reservation. She cleared her throat before giving her name and the two were soon following the suited man towards a table in the middle of the dining room.

Beca went to pull out Chloe's chair but stepped back when the host moved ahead of her and did so instead.

"Oh," the brunette voiced, realizing stupidly that it was probably part of his job when seating people. She stood awkwardly for a second before just going to her own seat across from her date.

The man wished them a good evening and left them to themselves. Beca cleared her throat and wiped her palms together in her lap.

"This is a nice place," she noted, looking from the walls, to the sconces, to the centerpieces surrounded by a ring of small candles.

"Yeah, it is," Chloe answered, looking around briefly as well, "Have you been here before?"

"No, I've driven by a bunch of times, that's all."

Chloe nodded with a smile and a wink, "I'm honored to be with you for your first time."

Beca blushed furiously and brushed her hair behind her ear while ducking her head. After a second, she reached for her menu to distract her brain from the images Chloe's comment had inspired. After a moment, when she realized she was looking at the wine list, she realized a small problem she hadn't thought of before.

"Um, if you want a wine or something, you'll have to order it," she explained, "in case they want to card me. Sorry."

Chloe smirked at the statement, "It's ok, I can order for myself."

"Oh, I didn't mean…" she shook her head and cleared her throat, "Sorry."

Beca cast her eyes back to the menu. She felt silence settle as she tried to read the page. It wasn't uncomfortable, per say, more like distracting. The brunette was wondering if they should be talking. Was Chloe bored? Would she become uninterested if Beca didn't get a conversation going?

The more concerned she got, the harder it became to focus on the print in front of her. Over the course of the year, Beca had become closer to the redhead than anyone else, but even so, there was a lot they didn't know about each other just yet; one of which being Beca's reading difficulty. Thankfully her dyslexia was mild and, for the most part, she was able to get by without issue as long as she had the opportunity focus and take her time.

The dim light combine with her nerves wasn't really allowing her either.

The waiter came by to fill their water glasses and ask if they were ready for anything. After asking for a few more minutes, Beca anxiously looked back to her date. She was surprised to find the blue eyes, alight with the candle flicker, looking at her already and Beca cleared her throat; suddenly wondering if she'd been looking at her the whole time.

"Were you ready?" Beca asked worried she'd sent him away without consulting Chloe, "Sorry, we can call him back. I'll make a decision, sorry."

She half turned to flag him down again, but Chloe's voice stopped her.

"No, Beca, stop," she requested, getting her attention back, "Stop apologizing, stop worrying; just…just stop for a second, ok?"

The redhead gave her a small grin and shrugged her shoulders.

"What are we doing here?"

"Um, we're having a date?" Beca responded and came to the crushing conclusion that Chloe didn't want to be there with her. She sagged back in her seat, "You're not enjoying yourself."

It was more of a statement than a question, but Chloe answered it anyway.

"No, I'm not," she replied, making Beca deflate even more. Chloe went on, reaching across the table and covering Beca's hand with her own, "Because _you_ aren't."

"What?"

"Beca, you're uncomfortable; you're worried and…I love that you wanted to bring me to this beautiful place, I do," the redhead continued, "I love it, but you're not yourself right now. Please don't get me wrong, this will be a lovely date down the line when we've been together a while, but tonight I wanted the true Beca Mitchell experience. That's who I got all crushed out on."

Beca didn't miss the way Chloe had said, 'when' instead of 'if' in her statement. That made her heart skip a bit.

"I wanted to do something special," Beca confessed with a sigh, "you deserve special. I don't do this much; you know, date."

She felt kind of silly admitting that; but Chloe didn't let her dwell.

"Any time with you is special," she promised; she gave the redhead a fluttering smile, even if it seemed kind of cheesy.

"I feel the same," cheesy but true.

"Good," Chloe smiled brightly and sat back in her chair, "What do you say we ditch this place and you take me on a real Beca Mitchell date?"

Beca smirked, "There was something I wanted to do, before I thought of this."

A short time later, Beca was leaning across the driver's seat and turning up the volume on the stereo. Once she was happy with the level, she grabbed the paper bag and pulled herself up to sit on the hood beside Chloe.

"Your double cheeseburger my lady," Beca announced, pulling out the wrapped sandwich and handing it over.

"Why, thank you."

The two enjoyed conversation while eating their burgers; dumping both fries into the bag and sharing the pile. When the food was finished the two girls laid back against the windshield, looking at the night lit cityscape while Beca's mix played in the air.

Beca had one arm resting behind her head while Chloe traced her wrist.

"I love your tattoos."

"You do?"

"Yeah," she heard her go on as her light touch continued over the exposed ink design, "It's like little clues to who you are. Think you'll get anymore?"

"I'm open to it," she answered, "As long as it's something that means something to me."

Chloe surprised her when she lifted her arm and pressed a tender kiss to her marked wrist. Beca's stomach fluttered at the action. The fluttering then became a full swarm of butterflies when Chloe moved and turned to lay against her, closing the space between them and resting her head on her shoulder. Tentatively, Beca wrapped her arm around her to hold the girl close. She felt, more than heard, Chloe hum at the action as she settled into position and Beca decided to take a chance.

"Hey, Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss you?"

The girl in her arms lifted her head to look at her and smile.

"You don't have to ask."

Beca hoped it was too dark to show her blush, before she leaned down towards her.

The two shared a soft kiss, and Beca felt herself get lightheaded at the feel of Chloe's lips on hers. She'd never tasted anything like Chloe Beale and she was sure she was ruined for life from it. There was no way anything else could compare.

After a moment , they pulled apart and Chloe snuggled against her once more; this time bringing herself even closer, if that was possible, and wrapping her arm up diagonally across her chest with her slender hand cupping the side of Beca's neck.

"So," Beca began, "The Beca Mitchell experience…what do you think?"

Chloe hummed again before answering.

"Perfect."

X


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry this took FOREVER! I've had a crazy few weeks. But here we go with Chloe's chapter for the first date!**

 **Ch 2**

"Ok, how about this one?" Chloe asked again as she stepped out of the closet and spun around for her roommate before looking at her reflection.

"It's great," she heard Aubrey say from behind her.

"You think so?" she asked while smoothing over her midsection of the red dress.

"Yep, that's the one."

"Are you sure, 'cause-"Chloe stopped her question as she turned around and saw the blonde reading a magazine. Chloe squinted at her roommate before taking the dress off and standing in her matching bra and underwear.

"Is this better?"

Aubrey didn't lift her eyes from the page.

"Oh yeah, much better."

Chloe groaned, wadded up the dress and threw it at the blonde. The fabric hit the other girl in the face and got her attention.

"Hey!" Aubrey shouted as she looked up.

"Don't 'hey' me," Chloe replied, "You're not paying attention. This is important, Aubrey! You're supposed to help me. Beca will be here in, like, an hour."

Aubrey scoffed and gestured around the room.

"Well I was paying attention about thirty outfits ago," she remarked as she directed her attention to the many piles of clothes strewn around Chloe's bedroom and spilling out of the closet, "and everything looked great. Everything you've put on, including _my_ clothes which are now wrinkled up on the floor thank you very much, looked great."

Chloe let out a groan and stomped a foot in frustration.

"I need better than that, Bree!" she argued, "I need amazing."

"You _need_ to calm down. Stop freaking out. I mean, it's Beca we're talking about. No reason to go all out."

Chloe scowled at her friend's words.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively, putting her hand on her hips, "I thought you and Beca were good; that you supported this."

Aubrey put her hands up in surrender.

"We are and I do," Aubrey stated and rose to stand in front of her friend, "I _meant_ it's Beca; the girl who's been giving you heart eyes all year and that includes when we were fighting near vomit," she shuddered at the memory, "My point is, you could wear a pillow case with holes cut in it and she'd still think you were gorgeous."

Chloe felt the familiar tingle in her stomach when it came to Beca. She looked down as she wrung her fingers together.

"You think?"

"I know," Aubrey replied with a smile and grabbed her friend's hands for a comforting squeeze.

Chloe took a breath and nodded.

"Ok. Ok, yeah," she nodded again and returned to the closet to dress again.

Aubrey sighed and stepped back, waiting a few minutes before hearing Chloe's voice again.

"This is it!" the redhead declared happily from the closet before she ran out excited to stand in front of her roommate, "This is the one!"

Aubrey took in the blue dress she was wearing.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" she asked loudly.

"What, you don't like it?" Chloe questioned looking down at herself.

"Chloe!" she whined, "That was the first freaking thing you put on!"

Chloe just shrugged and twirled around with a smile.

Aubrey huffed in frustration and flopped down on the bed. Chloe just smiled wider in happiness at her decision before going to continue getting ready.

Half an hour later, Chloe had just finished her make up when there was a knock at the door.

"I got it," Aubrey announced and made her way down the hall.

"Thank you!" Chloe called out and as Aubrey passed by the bathroom. As the blonde walked by the open door, Chloe heard her talking to herself.

"…give that midget a good warning about dating my friend."

Chloe gasped and ran out, catching Aubrey by the wrist just before she reached the front door.

"No! No, no Aubrey you can't!"

"What are you- ouch! Let go!" Aubrey demanded as Chloe pulled her back into the living room and away from the door.

"Aubrey, you _cannot_ go all stern and scary on her. You can't!" she spoke in a harsh whisper, knowing Beca was just outside the door and might overhear.

"It is my right," she replied as she ripped her arm out of Chloe's hand, "as your best friend to give her the talk!"

"Keep your voice down!" she demanded in a hiss, "You'll take it too far and scare her!"

"Good, that's my job!" she answered matching Chloe's volume.

"It took a year for her to get the courage to actually ask me out; I won't let you freak her out!"

Chloe started marching towards the door.

"No, Chloe, come on!" Aubrey pleaded going after her, "You have to let-"

Chloe didn't hear the rest as she hurried into the hall and closed the door quickly behind her.

She nearly ran into Beca in the hall during her rushed exit. She greeted her enthusiastically as the other girl stepped back at her sudden appearance.

She fought to suppress a smile of amusement as Beca stumbled her way through complimenting her. She did let out a small grin as she responded.

"You look better than good, too."

Beca looked down at herself before holding out a bouquet.

"These are for you."

Chloe felt a swell in her chest as she took the flowers. A smile burst onto her face upon seeing that they were lilies. Her favorite; Beca remembered her favorite flower. She barely remembered mentioning it. That fact made her smile brighter as she smelled them and thanked Beca.

"I love them," she told her, "Most people bring roses, which is a little cliché and played out for a first date, you know?"

She heard Beca's laugh, "Yeah, totally."

Chloe excused herself to put the flowers inside, making sure to close the door before Beca could follow her inside. It turned out to be the right move as Aubrey practically bounced on her as soon as she entered.

"What going on? Did you change your mind? She messed up already? I knew I should've –"

"No, Aubrey, calm down," she interrupted and held the flowers to the blonde, "Put those in water for me."

"Fine," she agreed taking the flowers, "Right after I have a word with her."

Chloe blocked her as Aubrey made a move to go to the door.

"Chloe, don't deprive me of this," she pleaded, trying to reach around her for the doorknob, "Come on I've done it for all your dates."

"None of them were Beca. Stop it!"

"Chloe!" she continued to try to get around her.

The redhead opened the door just enough to slip out even as Aubrey tried to get out as well.

"No," she said slapping away the blonde's hand as she tried to hold the door to keep it open, "No, stop it. No!"

"Chloe-"

Aubrey's words were silenced by the closing door. In the hall, Chloe kept her grip on the doorknob behind her as she felt Aubrey trying to turn it from inside. She put her smile back on for Beca.

"Ready?"

The two made their way out to Beca's car.

"Thank you," Chloe said as the brunette opened the door for her.

She was settling herself in the car and looking around the interior. Her eyes fell on the bouquet of roses discarded in the backseat. Chloe smiled to herself and pretended not to notice them as Beca got in the driver's seat.

After a short drive, during which Chloe could feel Beca's nerves flowing off her in waves, Chloe's eyes widened as she realized where they were going. This was definitely not what she was expecting.

"Are you serious?" she asked in surprise, "We're actually going here?"

"You don't like it?"

Hearing the worry in her question, Chloe was quick to reassure her that wasn't what she meant. She just recalled her parents bringing her there to celebrate her first year at Barden and how high the price was at the end of the meal.

"Don't worry about it," Beca told her with more confidence than before getting out.

As soon as they entered, Chloe could sense Beca's nerves return full force.

They were seated quickly and Chloe tried to ease her obviously overwhelmed date with a smile. Beca returned it with a nervous one of her own before the two made some small talk about the restaurant. She'd even manage to make the younger girl blush with a flirty comment.

Chloe did her best to try to relax her as the minutes passed with increasing discomfort from the other girl. She finally had to say something when Beca once again second guessed herself after asking the waiter for more time before ordering.

"What are we doing here?" Chloe asked.

"Um, we're having a date?" she responded before adding, "You're not enjoying yourself."

Chloe answered honestly, "No, I'm not."

She read the disappointment that came across the girl's face. She hurried to dispel it; unable to take the look in her eyes. She put her hand over Beca's.

She'd seen from the start how uncomfortable Beca was in her skin that night. Sure, she looked great, but it was obvious she wasn't feeling like herself. That discomfort made itself known in the way she acted. Beca always walked a line between confident and awkward in adorable fashion. But tonight she was far from it.

"I wanted to do something special. You deserve special," Beca told her before admitting, "I don't do this much, you know, date."

The redhead smiled warmly at the confession and couldn't help thinking about how there was much more to the girl than the deprecating badass with a sarcastic response to everything. That was why she wanted a real date with Beca. Not this show the brunette thought she had to do to impress her.

When Beca informed her that she'd had a different original plan, Chloe was immediately intrigued to learn what it might be. Chloe's smile beamed across her face as Beca pulled off the road and stopped the car. They were looking out over the city lights, but far enough away from it that the stars were clear and visible.

Beca rolled the windows down and Chloe followed her suggestion to go sit on the hood. The redhead made herself comfortable as she heard the music come from the car as Beca appeared again.

Chloe took notice of how much more relaxed Beca seemed now. Her jacket was left behind in the car and her sleeves pushed up her forearms; smirk on her face as she joined Chloe on the hood.

She couldn't properly describe exactly how happy she felt as she lay beside Beca – the real Beca – with the mix playing around them. She became fixated on the headphones tattooed on her wrist and stated tracing it with her fingers.

Her mind travelled back to that day in the shower. What Beca didn't know, was that Chloe had shamelessly taken in the sight of Beca's body from behind for a few seconds before alerting the other girl to her presence. She smiled to herself as she realized she knew exactly what her other tattoos were and, more importantly, where they were.

"I love your tattoos," she admitted.

Feeling totally at peace in the moment, Chloe kissed her wrist and then moved to lie against the other girl. Warmth encapsulated her as Beca's arm wrapped around her in response. When Beca asked if she could kiss her, the redhead had to keep herself from squealing in excitement.

Forcing her voice to remain steady, she answered, "You don't have to ask."

They kissed.

They kissed and Chloe could honestly say she'd never felt anything close to what Beca Mitchell's kiss inspired in her. If she had to describe it, Chloe would say Beca's kiss felt like coming home.

When they separated, Chloe wouldn't help but wrap herself around Beca, wanting to never let go of her. After a moment, Beca's chest vibrated beneath her as she spoke.

"So, the Beca Mitchell experience…what do you think?"

Chloe hummed, replying with the only answer she had.

"Perfect."

She was glad that Beca couldn't see how impossible it was to stop her smile from taking over. Chloe turned her face into Beca and tightened her hold on Beca who chuckled in return.

When Chloe felt the brunette place another kiss on top of her head, she couldn't help the thought that came to her.

She was going to spend her life with this girl.


End file.
